We’ve got a special guest this week on the show, and as luck would have it she’s the queen of the top 10 list. And since we can’t count higher than 5 around here, Heather from Movie Mobsters has super-concentrated a list and offered up her 5 favourite time travel movies.
5. Harry Potter And Prisoner Of Azkaban
Harry Potter’s third film (and one of my personal favorites in the series) takes a twist on the idea of time travel and gives you a vantage point of the characters actually watching themselves. Even though you know what is going to happen to a degree, it is exhilarating to watch Hermione, Ron, and Harry all attempt to change things enough to save themselves and their friends. It was one of the most clever uses of time travel, and was genuine to it’s attempt.
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
I won’t pretend this is the greatest film of all time, or that it is even the greatest Star Trek film, and certainly not the only one playing with time travel, but sending characters everyone was familiar with back in time, which ironically is present time for those of us when it was released, gave the movie a completely different level to enjoy it on, and really opened the doors to people who weren’t science fiction or Star Trek films. To this day that is the only Star Trek movie my mom has ever watched. Besides who doesn’t want to go around the sun and steal some humpback whales while letting Spock and Scotty bumble around in our world? Smart AND funny Trek flick.
3. Back To The Future
This would probably be the #1 time travel flick on most peoples lists and who am I to argue the order? It certainly belongs here and I’m sure we all agree on it. Time traveling back to when your parents were your age, befriending them, (finding your mom was a bit of a hussie), and then realizing your return has messed with the time continuum and you have to right it? Mostly because your mom is a hussie and wants you instead of your Dad? Talk about Elektra complex gone bonkers. Freud woulda had kittens. Of course Doc and Marty McFly and the Flux capacitor sell this to us in spades and make it one of the most fun and re-watchable films of all time.
2. 12 Monkeys
Perhaps one of the most twisted and dark trips into the world of time travel, 12 Monkeys is a movie that still manages to allude it’s audiences from it’s full intent. Years into the future, criminals are sent through time travel to find the pieces of the puzzle that ended in mans demise. All signs point to something involving “Twelve Monkeys”. In order to save humanity James Cole is a criminal sent back to find this information because for some reason he has more tolerance to the travel. Throughout the film you are kept at arms length about what exactly is unfolding up till the shocking ending **SPOILER** where he witnesses his own death as a child. **SPOILER END** Without question this is twisted one in the world of Time Travel and is more compelling every time you view it.
1. Terminator 2
Terminator 2 asks about humanities quest to repeat the same mistakes over and over, and in doing so further explores the conundrum of time travel. The question of whether or not man is arrogant enough to think they can actually alter the future is explored through a sea of action and science fiction, but the truth behind it’s flash and bang is a film that really evaluates the mere essence of fate, destiny, and free will. “No Fate But What We Make.”
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Azkaban was definitely my favourite book and it was so great they got Cuaron to direct it. Loved how Dumbledore was kind of aware of all the time traveling going on – it spoke to how we only ever saw a fraction of what he could do.
Star Trek 4 might not have been “the best”, but it was definitely my favourite of the original crop. Although it was the first one that started me questioning how if it was that “easy” to go back in time, why wasn’t everyone doing it?
That they were able to jam in a musical number into BTTF’s already higher than high concept was a miracle you couldn only pull off in the 80s… or maybe in Encino Man.
12 Monkeys tops my list without a doubt, and is also top of my list of Time Travel Insane Asylum films, a list that also contains The Jacket…and nothing else yet. I love everything about this movie, especially its “realistic” approach to time travel – its unpredictability and the fact that before you’ve left, you’re already there… That he was already dreaming of that spoiler you mentioned, was probably the most fascinating ascpect of this movie.
It’s funny that you ascribe much of the high concept stuff to T2 that I would assign to 12 Monkeys. I mean, T2 was good, but they threw out the whole “no machines through time” thing for the sake of going wild with effects for the T1000. Granted, it was the right decision, but whatever happened to time travel continuity? Oh yeah, there’s no such thing…
I have to say, I am sad to see Back to the Future at #3. That’s a more acceptable spot for Back to the Future #2…
I say there’s no shame in placing after 12 Monkeys. Which is more of a mindfunk? **SPOILER!** Fighting off your future mother’s ardent advances or Watching your future self getting shot in the back? **END OF SPOILER**
I think any of these five movies put in any order would be acceptable. All are impressive films and are good representatives about the positive aspects of time travel movies.
I love time-travel movies! From the middling ones (The Butterfly Effect) to the foreign ones (Timecrimes) to the ones that are not really time-travel movies (The Time Traveler’s Wife), I love them all! I wish Hollywood would pump out more… I need to see 12 Monkeys again as I saw it only once when I was a kid and was bored out of my mind.
An impressive list but I think 12 Monkeys inherent downbeat-ness would mean it wouldn’t make my top 10. Great to see Voyage Home – one of the best Star Trek movies and one of the funniest too.
Yes, you’re right, I’d have Back To The Future at number 1. I might also find places on my list for Frequency (the hugely enjoyable murder-mystery time-travle romp), Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day I wasn’t sure as a time travel. It was more of a time speed bump. HA!
Bill and Ted were once in place of Harry Potter.
Yeah, there wasn’t any time “travel” in Groundhog Day, Phil’s problem was that he wasn’t travelling at all.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure loses marks for nonsensical rules of time travel. If they’re using a time machine, why does it matter when Rufus sets out to help them? When you’re writing a time travel script, you gotta up your game as far as coming up with a “ticking clock”. And furthermore, if the only way to bring the galaxy into harmony is to take a couple metalheads on a trip through time, isn’t that cheating? And one other thing, isn’t the only reason they won the battle of the bands in Bogus Journey because they cheated and used the time machine? Phew! Getting myself all worked up over the two “Great Ones”. Station!
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